


Fire Flakes

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, and the inherent intimacy of the kitchen, it is about the kids having fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:55:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26731006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Rangi loses a bet with Yun and Kyoshi makes Rangi fire flakes.
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 86





	Fire Flakes

Rangi was in charge of Yun’s stance training today as the substitute for her Mother and Yun had struck up a bet with the Firebender: he would do twenty more hot squats than usual and if she could find no faults in them, she must answer him a question honestly. Truth or dare, with some stakes thrown in, he’d said. Rangi found the odds of him winning rather slim, so she had enthusiastically taken her friend on, hoping to push his training further.

It was a grave mistake. Yun was down to his last three hot squats and the number of flaws Rangi had spotted from him was a staggering zero. The air around them was getting hotter from Rangi circling Yun, still determined to find one, just one, fault.

“Give it up, Rangi.” He said, watching her frown, “My hot squat is perfect.”

“Not so soon.” Rangi warned. “You still have three more to go.”

“Two now.” Yun smirked as he finished yet another perfect hot squat.

Rangi huffed. He was winning and he would remind her of it with every passing second. She considered her situation: it was untenable, she knew that well, but she would fight to the last man standing. “Still not zero.”

“And one…”

Rangi stopped in front of her friend, hand rubbing her temples. Her last frontier had fallen. She let out a sigh as she looked at Yun, who had completed his final hot squat, still in flawless form, and was ready to collect his prize. His forehead glistened with sweat from a well-fought battle and Rangi wanted to wipe the grin off his face. Right now, he was not the Avatar she revered, but simply her friend whom she’d lost a bet to. 

“You lose.” Yun sang the words, dragging it out far longer than was necessary. Rangi scowled at him. She was not giving him the pleasure of hearing her admit it.

Rangi’s ears perked up as she heard a sound within their immediate proximity, her eyes sweeping their surroundings for the source. The Firebender found it at last: the pebbles on the ground near them were trembling, marching like little drunken soldiers into a formation dictated by Yun. It was a smiley face with the smile turned upside down, the exact expression Rangi was wearing at that moment. She snorted.

“They say life imitates art, you know?” Yun put an arm around her shoulders as he peered down at his work.

“You got lucky this time.” Rangi elbowed him. “Go on. Ask your question.”

Yun turned her around to face him with both his hands resting on her shoulders. Rangi was surprised at how serious this seemed but she decided not to jump to any conclusions. Yun was the one most well known for his antics in their friends group and scenes like these were not unfamiliar.

“Would you answer it honestly?” 

“Of course.” Rangi was indignant at the suggestion that she would go back on her promise. “I gave you my words, didn’t I?” 

Yun took a deep breath. Rangi almost wanted to punch him for dragging it out so long. 

“Do you like Kyoshi?”

She did not expect that. Rangi’s ears turned a color as red as her armor. She knew what Yun meant by the look in his eyes right now. He was asking her the very question she’d asked herself over and over every night, in a desperate attempt to come up with a different answer, a different reality. To no avail, apparently, as she knew full well what she felt for Kyoshi. Would she answer this honestly? Yes, of course. It was her words on the line. Was she willing to misinterpret the question? Yes, of course. The rules did not specify anything about that.

“I think she makes a wonderful companion, yes.”

Yun rolled his eyes. “You _know_ that’s not what I meant.”

“I answered your question, Yun.” Rangi said, brushing off his hands from her shoulders. His training session was over and she couldn’t bear having this conversation right now. “I don’t think we should talk about this.”

“If you’ll excuse me, Avatar.” Rangi bowed as she began to leave the training grounds. She was glad Yun did not push the issue, though she doubted he had any need to. Her friend was socially astute; he could read the unspoken just as well as she did. 

Rangi let out a long sigh when she was finally out of her friend’s sight. Now that was out there. She trusted Yun would keep that information between her and himself. He may be mischievous, but he was not imprudent. Rangi was more worried about what changes that would inadvertently bring to their friends group. She would rather live with her unrequited feelings than risk losing what she had with Kyoshi and Yun.

A hand touched the small of her back as a tall figure - no, _the_ tall figure - stepped up behind her.

“Hi, Rangi, do you have a moment?”

Speak of the devil.

“Yes, Kyoshi. What’s wrong?” Rangi eyed Kyoshi up and down, assessing her friend. She was usually the one doing the checking up and showing up unannounced, not the other way around.

“Nothing’s wrong.” Kyoshi waved a hand dismissively, “I just made some fire flakes. Come get some while they’re still hot!”

Rangi raised an eyebrow questioningly. She did not expect Kyoshi to know how to cook a traditional Fire Nation dish, but she followed her friend to the kitchen anyway. Rangi had missed Fire Nation food dearly since her stay here. She’d kept that entirely to herself, of course. The idea of asking for a preferred dish filled her with embarrassment; it was so unprofessional.

They walked together down the tunnel leading into the kitchen and Rangi reminded Kyoshi to duck her head lest she hit the top support beams again. Her friend glanced back at her, both moved and surprised that Rangi had remembered. And a little teasing as well. That was exclusively a problem reserved for tall people like Kyoshi, not for smaller ones like Rangi. Rangi frowned. She was, in fact, taller than the average person. Kyoshi was just gigantic.

They entered the cavernous kitchen at last and it was emptier than Rangi had expected. 

“Everyone’s on their break right now.” Kyoshi answered the question in her eyes before she asked it. “Out for some fresh air, most likely.”

“Have a seat.” Kyoshi gestured to a chair, but Rangi did not feel like sitting down. Since they were in the business of promoting Fire Nation culture, she would like to contribute.

“Thank you, but I’ll make the tea for us. Do you know where Kelsang put his stash?” The stash in question was the tea leaves Kelsang had brought with him after his visit to Rangi’s homeland. He’d brought quite an extensive collection too and Rangi was eager to try them out.

“Should be over there.” Kyoshi pointed at a cabinet in the far corner. “The tea pots and cups are right above it.”

Rangi and Kyoshi settled into a comfortable rhythm of working. The small space with dumpling wrappings still being cut was cleared out by Kyoshi. Presently she was methodically setting out the bowls and forks together with some napkins. Rangi focused on retrieving her tools and getting started with the brewing. 

The Firebender herself was not one for the kitchen, but she had put in the effort to learn how to make proper tea. She wanted to know this crucial part of her culture and nothing said hospitality like a cup of tea brewed by the host themselves. It did not hurt that her mother seemed to enjoy the tea she made more than any other kind.

Having already prepared the fire flakes beforehand, Kyoshi swiftly finished putting them in the two bowls and was sitting by their table, watching Rangi work. Rangi was acutely aware of the attention on her. Good thing the Fire Academy examinations trained her to perform well under close supervision.

She brought the teapot, now steaming and ready to be served, together with two cups over to their makeshift table. “There. All done.”

Kyoshi was beaming at her.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Rangi asked, furrowing her eyebrows. She understood if Kyoshi wanted to watch her brew the tea, but now that she’d finished, Kyoshi didn’t quite have a reason to be staring.

“No, no.” Kyoshi shook her head, still smiling, “I’m just enjoying the view.”

Rangi hoped the blush in her cheeks would be lost on Kyoshi. She refused to let her composure all go to waste by a mere throwaway comment from her friend. Presently at a loss for words, Rangi took her seat near Kyoshi, pretending to examine her chair’s legs so her face could stay hidden.

“Shut up.” Rangi scoffed. “There are a lot of things about me you don’t know.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Kyoshi pushed her bowl of fire flakes over for Rangi. “But I would like to.”

“Let’s try out these fire flakes of yours.” Rangi said as she started grabbing a handful of fire flakes from her own bowl. Diversion tactics. Food was safer than whatever territory they were treading. Then at least she could blame the redness on her face onto the fire flakes. 

Rangi started shoving the snack in her mouth, the crunching sound drowning out most of her surroundings. Her friend glanced at her with a mischievous hint in her eyes before she, too, began rapidly mowing away at her own fire flakes. Rangi got the message loud and clear: game on, Kyoshi, game on.

Rangi briefly wondered if Kyoshi had rigged the scale in her favor by giving herself fewer fire flakes than Rangi, but that was not important. She was a Fire Nation born and bred. She was not about to be shown up by an Earthbender in her own playing field. With that thought, Rangi went back to destroying the contents in her bowl.

They glanced back and forth at each other in between gulps of fire flakes, sizing their opponent’s progress. Rangi knew her cheeks must be flushed from the spiciness; from the pained look on Kyoshi’s face, she was taking her fair share of damage too. 

At last, Kyoshi seemed to have hit her limits. Her friend had stopped taking any more fire flakes from the bowl and struggled to swallow the rest of her food, breathing through her mouth and fanning her face with her hand.

“Loser.” Rangi’s mouth was still full of fire flakes but she would not waste her chance to gloat, especially not after her devastating defeat today with Yun.

Rangi wasn’t sure how her word sounded to Kyoshi but her friend had almost fallen over with laughter, her hand now clutching her stomach. The Firebender clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle her own burst of laughter threatening to spill over. She still was not finished with chewing her flakes, Rangi reminded herself, she must have at least some dignity.

Rangi barely managed to swallow the rest of her food before she joined in with Kyoshi. She was not sure what it was about the whole situation, only that it was absolutely hilarious. The sounds of their laughter rang out in the cavernous kitchen and Rangi wished she could turn this feeling, this scene, this sound, into something tangible, so she may keep it for always.

“That was really spicy.” Kyoshi said when they were finally done with their laughing fits.

Rangi moved to pour them both some tea to wash down the snack. Her hand was on the handle of the teapot when Kyoshi put her own on top of it, startling Rangi. “Let me.”

Kyoshi stood up from her seat and poured the tea for Rangi and herself. Her friend had abandoned sitting to stand nearer to the Firebender, leaning against the table so they were facing each other.

“You know I haven’t eaten that in a long time.” Rangi said after her first gulp of tea, the liquid a welcome change from the punishing fire flakes. “The local kids sometimes throw eating contests like this. I’d always wanted to join but never really got around to it.”

“Why not?”

“Violently eating fire flakes with other children is an activity frowned upon for Fire Academy students.” Rangi shrugged. “Besides, I barely have enough time for school.”

“You’re on for a rematch then.” Kyoshi said and poked Rangi’s feet with her own. “The tea’s surprisingly good, by the way. Thank you.”

Rangi frowned. _What do you mean surprisingly good?_

Kyoshi shrugged. _You know what I mean_. 

Rangi shook her head incredulously at the implication and Kyoshi giggled. They were interrupted by Auntie Mui poking her head inside the kitchen, “Hey, wrap it up, you two! The staff will be back in five minutes!”

“Oops.” Kyoshi muttered under her breath and Rangi had to suppress a snort.

“Of course, Auntie Mui.” Rangi gave Auntie Mui her best attempt at a face which meant business. “We’ll be ready in five.”

It seemed to work. Auntie Mui retreated, not forgetting to remind them one last time that they had precisely five minutes, no more no less. The old lady was barely out of sight before the two friends burst into laughter again, this time having to hold onto each other to steady themselves. 

Entranced by Kyoshi’s laughter and emboldened by the empty room, Rangi took her friend’s hand and laced their fingers together. “Thank you.”

Time froze as Kyoshi looked down at Rangi, smiling, and the Firebender was well and truly bewitched. Her friend’s face was flushed from the fire flakes and her green eyes were staring directly into Rangi’s. Should Auntie Mui return now, Rangi was more than happy to take sole responsibility for both of them slacking off, if it meant this spell would last another minute. 

Forever had passed before Kyoshi leaned down and kissed her forehead, slowly extricating their hands, “Let’s get to work before Auntie Mui kicks our asses, shall we?”

“Right. Of course.” Rangi cleared her throat and stood up straighter, still mourning the loss of Kyoshi’s hand in hers. She needed to ignore the butterflies in her stomach that Kyoshi had just unleashed, and they needed to get to work. 

It was not as easy as it seemed. Unable to contain the smile still spreading across her lips, Rangi decided on a change of tactics. Damage control. She swiftly brought the teapot and the cups over to the sink so Kyoshi would at least not see her face. She could already hear footsteps coming back to the kitchen. There was no way they would make it in time, but Rangi would gladly take the fall for this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and as always, feedback is warmly welcome!
> 
> (I am also @rangiseiinaka on tumblr dot com)


End file.
